ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — a video
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. mug — to rob
  5. fork — in a road
  6. chest — of your body
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chest — a box
  9. cold — an illness
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mug — a cup
  13. court — of a king
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mug — a face
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com